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Jervis B. Webb to provide automatic guided carts to Western Container

  • May 11, 2009
  • Jervis B. Webb Company
  • News

Summary

May 11, 2009 — Jervis B. Webb Company announced two new contracts with Western Container Corporation, a premier manufacturer of plastic bottles. Webb will supply five SmartCart AGC Automatic Guided Carts (AGCs) to Western Container’s facility in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., and three SmartCart AGCs to its facility in Tolleson, Ariz. Webb recently installed four SmartCart AGCs at Western Container’s facility in Fife, Wash.SmartCart AGCs are flexible, low-cost Automatic Guided Vehicles (AGVs) that are ideal for moving products on an assembly line or transporting goods throughout a plant or warehouse. Guided by magnetic tape, the guidepath of the SmartCart AGCs can be installed or modified in as little as a few hours. The SmartCart AGCs selected by Western Container are equipped with counterbalanced forks. The forks allow the SmartCart AGC to pick up a large bin from a gravity roller conveyor station. The bins are filled with preforms, which are in-process plastic bottles produced by injection molding machines. The SmartCart AGC transports the bin to a lid removal station, where the lid is removed from the bin. Next, the SmartCart AGC travels to a designated dumping station, where the preforms are dumped into a hopper and fed into a blow molding machine that forms the bottles into their final shape. During this process, which takes just over two minutes to complete, the SmartCart AGC recharges its batteries at a nearby charging station. When the dumping process is completed, the SmartCart AGC picks up the empty bin and delivers it to an automated bin stacking device. After that, the SmartCart AGC returns to the gravity roller station, where the entire process starts over. “We are pleased to expand our business with Western Container by providing our SmartCarts to two additional facilities,” said Bruce Buscher, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Jervis B. Webb Company. “Our SmartCarts will help Western Container increase efficiency, reduce operating costs and streamline processes.”About Jervis B. Webb Company Jervis B. Webb Company is a subsidiary of Daifuku Co. Ltd. and leading developer of innovative material handling technology such as Automatic Guided Vehicles (AGVs), conveyors, baggage handling systems and Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RS). Webb specializes in the design, engineering, installation and support of integrated systems used in the automotive, airport, food/beverage, warehousing and manufacturing industries. Webb is headquartered in Farmington Hills, Mich., with manufacturing locations in Harbor Springs and Boyne City, Mich.; Carlisle, S.C.; Canada; India; and China. The company was founded in 1919 by Jervis B. Webb who invented the forged rivetless chain conveyor that helped revolutionize mass production.About Western Container CorporationWestern Container Corporation is a high performance company dedicated to being the premier manufacturer of PET containers for the Coca-Cola Bottling System. The company was established in 1979 by a group of Coca-Cola Bottlers who acted on the long-term need to offer a central distribution point and a reliable source of high quality low-cost plastic bottles. Learn More

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